7th Annual Rootabaga Poetry Slam Friday at 156 East

Poetry Slam founder and creator Marc Smith will lead the seventh annual Rootabaga Poetry Slam at 8 p.m. Friday, April 19 at 156 East banquet facility, located at 156 E. Main St., Galesburg. Top “slammers” from across the Midwest are expected to compete for cash prizes totaling $350.

Poetry Slam founder and creator Marc Smith will lead the seventh annual Rootabaga Poetry Slam at 8 p.m. Friday, April 19 at 156 East banquet facility, located at 156 E. Main St., Galesburg. Top “slammers” from across the Midwest are expected to compete for cash prizes totaling $350.

There is no entry fee to compete. Admission is free, but freewill offerings will be accepted. Refreshments will be served, and a cash bar will be available. For those interested in competing or for more information, contact Smith at slampapi@slampapi.com. Information on the Poetry Slam Movement can also be found on Smith’s website, www.slampapi.com.

This event is sponsored by 156 East, The Big Read and Sandburg Days Festival. The Poetry Slam is part of the 18th annual Sandburg Days festival for the mind, which takes place April 17-20 in Galesburg. The Sandburg Days festival for the mind honors Galesburg-born, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Abraham Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg and his family by celebrating with the community through educational and recreational activities. A complete list of events for the Sandburg Days festival for the mind can be found at www.sandburg.edu/festival.